Secretary of State John Merrill’s office reported Friday that it has issued 1,166 penalties or warnings to Political Action Committees (PACs) and Principal Campaign Committees (PCCs) since the start of the 2018 election cycle.

These penalties amount to nearly $200,000 in fines, just over half of which has been collected. The fines not yet paid have either been waived by the Alabama Ethics Commission (AEC) or have not yet been collected.

The fines are issued as a result of the committees’ failure to file their daily, weekly or monthly campaign finance reports in a timely manner, as required by an act passed by the Alabama legislature in 2015. All committees are required to report all contributions and expenditures from the previous month.

According to the press release from Merrill’s office, the AEC “has been prolific in overturning violations.” Of the 1,166 levied, 166 have been overturned.

The money collected by these fines is deposited into the state’s perpetually beleaguered General Fund.